FMCG maker Emami expects it would take a few quarters for it to revive Kesh King after consultancy firm BCG comes up with a “robust strategy” on the ayurvedic hair care brand.
The Kesh King range declined by 10 per cent in the third quarter and 12 per cent in the first nine months of the current financial year due to competitive pressures and category challenges. The company hired BCG to revive the brand.
Kesh King is being evaluated
“Kesh King is being evaluated by BCG. Let them come up with a robust strategy. Once they come up with that, and we start implementing, I am sure the brand should revive. It is not too far. I think it will take another one or two quarters, but then surely we will come with a bang,” Mohan Goenka, Vice Chairman and Whole-time Director, Emami Ltd, said during a conference call, post declaration of the company’s third quarter results.
On the degrowth in the Kesh King business, Goenka said it was also a category issue. “Definitely a category issue is there in the oil we are seeing. It is not just the Kesh King…but we cannot wait for markets. Of course, market is one thing. If they revive, we will get extra benefit, but whatever changes that need to be done, or for the brand opportunities in shampoo and other hair care, there are multiple opportunities which have been identified. So, a lot of work is going on,” he added.
Significantly, earlier this month, Emami announced a rebranding of its major male grooming brand “Fair and Handsome” to “Smart And Handsome” in order to address the consumers preference for “redefining fairness” and tapping into almost all segments of the highly-growing market.
The rebranding of the ₹250-crore brand, which enjoys a market leadership of around 65 per cent in India’s male grooming category, was also aiming at addressing the issue of the tepid performance. The company has a plan to grow this brand, launched in 2005, to around ₹1,000 crore in the next three to four years with new product rollouts.
The company reported around 7 per cent year-on-year rise in its consolidated net profit to ₹278.98 crore for the third quarter this fiscal from ₹260.65 crore for the same period last fiscal. The Kolkata-based FMCG maker’s revenue grew 5.33 per cent y-o-y at ₹1049.48 crore for the third quarter of FY25 compared to ₹996.32 crore for the corresponding period of FY24.
